1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to playback message recorders and, more particularly, to such playback message recorders built into the handset of a cellular telephone.
2. Description of the Related Art
Today, cellular telephones enable individuals to make and receive telephone calls nearly anywhere in the United States. Often, cellular phone users make or receive telephone calls at locations which do not allow them to manually record the information conveyed during the conversation. For example, to manually record information during a cellular phone call while driving, the user must either stop the vehicle immediately and record the message or must call the caller back and record the information at a later time. In some instances, the driver may attempt to manually record the message while driving which, of course, may cause an accident.
For a variety of reasons, the voice information conveyed in a cellular telephone call is often broken or incomplete. Due to their greater mobility, cellular telephones are often used in environments that have loud background noises which make the information inaudible.
A device capable of overcoming these problems is a cellular telephone with a built-in message recorder which can be selectively operated using the hand which holds the handset and which allows the messages to be played back directly into the earphone on the handset.